Children’s Sermon

Matthew 22:1-14

Good Intentions

By Lois Parker Edstrom

OBJECTS SUGGESTED: A report card, a book, a pillow to represent intentions listed below – all optional. Write the word “intention” on poster board or a blackboard.

Intention is a word that means you decide to do something or plan to get a certain result. You could say you intend to get good grades at school; that is your intention. You might decide to read a certain book; you intend to read and finish that book. You tell your mother that you intend to make your bed every morning.

Sometimes we have good intentions, but we don’t follow through and complete the task. You may decide that it is more fun to play than study and your school grades are not what you intended them to be. Perhaps you did not finish that book you meant to read because you played video games instead. And, maybe there are mornings you forget to make your bed.

Jesus tells a story in the Bible about intentions. There was a king who gave a wedding party for his son. People were invited, but when it was time to come to the party, the people who had been invited had other plans and did not come. They may have had good intentions, but they chose to do other things.

The king told his servants to go out into the streets and gather all the people they could find, good or bad, and bring them to the party.

The lesson this story teaches us is that we all are invited to be a member of God’s family. When we become a Christian – join God’s family, we have good intentions to honor God and be of service to others, but often we get too involved with other things and sometimes we simply forget.

This story reminds us that good intentions are only good if we follow through and complete the task. We must remember to honor God everyday and share God’s love with others through our words and deeds.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2007, Richard Niell Donovan